World Battlefronts: Slow But Sure, II

In New Guinea, jungle-wise Australians mopped up the Huon Peninsula.
Along rugged, malaria-ridden trails, with the help of Matilda tanks,
they pushed converging columns toward Jap outposts. Their immediate
objective: to clear the enemy from the hinterland of Finschhaven, the
port captured almost two months ago by a bold amphibious stroke (TIME,
Oct. 4). From Finschhaven some 70 miles of blue water lead to Jap-held
New Britain: across that island's curving 300 miles lies Rabaul.

The Aussies, moving slowly over a peninsula as big as Connecticut, had
support from Allied air and sea arms. The New Britain shore nearest New
Guinea took...